Graduating Central York senior never missed a day of school — ever

Kirsten Blair didn't even miss an afternoon for a dental appointment.

It was senior skip day at Central York, lunchtime, and there sat Kirsten Blair, alone with her pizza calzone. Underclassmen were walking by, whispering — wondering.

Why was she the only senior at school?

"I just thought, you're supposed to be there every day," she said. "To me it's not a big deal."

But then there's the history.

It began on the first day of kindergarten, when Kirsten hugged her mom goodbye and walked out the front door of their Springettsbury Township home. She went to school.

And she's been going ever since.

Kirsten is set to graduate from York Central High School this spring with perfect attendance, having never missed a day in her school career. No sick days. Not even the stray missed afternoon for a dental appointment.

That's 13 years without time off. If you're counting, it's 2,300-plus days.

No absences.

"I do not know of any other students who have maintained perfect attendance from Kindergarten through Grade 12," school district spokeswoman Julie Randall Romig wrote in an email. "Her dedication to school is commendable and we are proud of her for achieving such a noteworthy and rare accomplishment."

Kirsten's mom, Tammy Eichelberger, said the perfect attendance streak didn't become "a thing" until around eighth grade. And that's around the time it got harder.

First, there was the birth of Kirsten's younger brother, Ace. That meant that Kirsten's grandfather, Michael Eichelberger, had to help get the teen ready and to school on time, while her mom was in the hospital.

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Then that same grandfather, Kirsten's "Pappy," was diagnosed with lung cancer. That meant hospitalization; it meant surgery, with his family huddled nervously one morning in a waiting room. Family, that is, except for Kirsten.

It was a school day.

So the young girl was up early to see her grandfather before class. And afterward Kristen would visit the hospital each day, sometimes staying until 2 a.m. to be with him, yet always up and out the door early the next morning.

"That was a tough time," Kirsten's mom said. "But a lot of this, I think, she's done for her grandpa."

Senior year has brought its own set of hurdles. Kirsten said she woke up sick one morning, only to trudge dutifully out the door—to the bus. Turns out that's another non-perk of a perfect attendance streak: If you break down in your own car and are late to school, an excused absence might not be so cut and dried.

So 17-year-old Kirsten – who will attend York College this fall to pursue a business administration degree; who recently got a special call with congratulations from York Mayor Kim Bracey – she's ridden the school bus all year with the little kids. Just in case.

After all: It's been 2,300-plus days in a row.

And when she spoke for this story: Seven to go.

School officials have already told Kirsten not to worry, that if anything should happen in these last few days, she'll be excused. She's politely said: No thanks. She wants to finish what she started.

"It's something simple," she said. "But it's still something."

School officials also presented Kirsten with a special award at this week's year-end banquet, standing to applaud her achievement with students, and with her family.

Here was Kirsten's dad, Jim Blair, his little girl almost all grown up. Here was her mom, proud of a daughter who's never let anything stop her. And Kirsten's Pappy?

Years ago he made a promise to his first granddaughter, that when she finished high school, he would be there. And so he was.

He smiled and stood and cheered with the rest, just as good as his word.

Another accomplishment

A graduating senior at William Penn Senior High School, Jerald Proctor, has also had perfect attendance for 13 years, according to the school.

Proctor will be recognized at graduation, where he will speak, according to the school. William Penn's graduation will be held at 7 p.m. June 6 in the high school auditorium.

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